KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo County will look to recoup more than $800,000 in back taxes and penalties Thursday, Aug. 22, when 193 foreclosed parcels are auctioned off.

View full sizeThis house at 1506 N. Burdick St., in Kalamazoo, is among 193 parcels to be offered at the Kalamazoo County Tax Sale Auction on Aug. 22. According to tax-sale.info the county is asking for a minimum bid of $2,600 on the house, which has a state equalized value of $18,200. SEV represents half of the fair market value.Alex Mitchell | MLive

It was previously reported in April that 221 parcels that were foreclosed on would be auctioned off because of unpaid property taxes from 2010 and prior years, but the number dropped to 193 because some parcels have been bundled, according to Kalamazoo County Treasurer Mary Balkema.

Balkema said owners of those parcels owed $536,634 in back taxes for 2010 and prior years and interest and penalties of $326,525, for a total of $863,159.

“We would like to regain it all, but some parcels won’t sell,” Balkema said of Thursday's tax sale auction. “We have seven meth houses we foreclosed on. Who’s going to buy a meth house? Nobody.”

Minimum bids for the properties are established based on the amount owed, which ranges from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands. Properties for which taxes, interest and penalties owed exceed their value will almost certainly remain unsold.

Balkema said whatever money isn’t recouped at the auction the county will seek to regain through a charge back to taxing units within the county that get a share of a property's taxes.

This year’s total of fewer than 200 parcels represents a significant drop from the record-setting 346 parcels the treasurer foreclosed on in 2012.

Balkema previously said she expected the number of foreclosures to drop because in 2012 she took over parcels in the city of Kalamazoo that carried 10 years of uncollected taxes. Before 2009, the city collected property taxes but would not foreclose on parcels if payments were late. State law changed in 2008, allowing the county treasurer to take over.

The Kalamazoo County Tax Sale Auction will take place at noon Thursday, Aug. 22 at the Kalamazoo Expo Center, 2900 Lake St. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. and parking is free.

“We’re hoping for a good turnout,” Balkema said. “It’s all part of the public process.”